CHAPTER XXXVIII. THREE MONTHS IN CAPTIVITY.

EAGER as he was to leave his new associates, Tom was wise enough to understand that it must not be thought of at present. He must bide¹ his time.

Meanwhile he must make himself as agreeable as possible to the young Indian whose friendly feeling had saved his life. Had Miantonimo still remained sick, he would have watched by his sick couch, but of this there was no need. A wonderful change had come over the boy. His sickness, whatever it was, seemed to have left him all at once. His strength rapidly returned, and he was able to resume his usual sports.

In these he always wanted Tom to participate, and the white boy was entirely² willing. While he remained in captivity³ he must pass the time in some way, and none seemed more agreeable than to share the life and employments of Miantonimo.

There were some things which the Indian boy could teach him. In the course of a few weeks Tom became expert with the bow; he even rivaled his adopted brother, who was remarkably⁴ skillful. He learned to ride a horse bareback, to shoot, to hunt. He also picked up some of the Indian dialect, so that he and Miantonimo could converse⁵ after a fashion.

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All this was regarded by Wanuka and his followers⁶ with quiet approval. Tom seemed to become more and more like their people, and they looked forward to his becoming a great warrior⁷, for his courage and skill were understood and appreciated by them.

Oftentimes Wanuka, as he sat in silence and watched the two boys at their sports, congratulated himself that his son had found a friend so congenial, and one in whose society he seemed to take so much delight.

But how was it with Tom? Was he contented⁸?

At first when under the tutelage of his young Indian friend he was learning to ride and to shoot, he found these exercises so interesting that he, for the time being, forgot to regret civilization and all its advantages and opportunities. But when he had learned all that Miantonimo could teach, when he could rival his teacher, and there was nothing to do but repeat from day to day the same routine, life became monotonous⁹.

For three months he had not read a word of print. Not even a scrap¹⁰ of newspaper had fallen beneath his eye. Tom was troubled with a sense of dreariness¹¹ and mental vacancy¹². If he could have bought the dullest and most trivial book he would have regarded it as a literary treasure.

“Must it be always so?” he asked himself, one evening. “Must I live cut off from all that I have been accustomed to enjoy, eating, sleeping, and hunting, and with nothing else to look forward to? If this is the case, I shall not value life much.”

Besides, there were his mother and sister, from whom199 he seemed forever separated. Such ties cannot be rent, when the heart is as affectionate as Tom’s, without great sorrow and pain.

The next day the two boys were riding together.

No one was with them, as no watch was needed when Tom had Miantonimo with him.

The Indian boy looked wistfully at Tom, whose gravity he had noticed, and asked:

“Why is my brother sad? Why does he not smile as he did yesterday? Is he in pain or sorrow?”

“Miantonimo,” said Tom, “far away, near the shores of the ocean, my mother and sister dwell. They know not where I am. They mourn for me. Perhaps they think I am dead. Do you wonder that I am sad?”

Miantonimo looked grave.

“Can you not be happy with me?” he asked. “You are like a brother to me.”

“Dear Miantonimo, I like you. You saved my life. But you cannot take the place of my mother and sister.”

“Why, then, did you leave them?”

“They are poor. I left home to seek gold, far away by the great western sea. I wished to bring it home that they might not want.”

Miantonimo looked up, and his face was sad.

“Do you wish to leave me?” he asked.

“I wish you could go with me.”

“I must stay with my people,” said the Indian boy. “But you—if you wish to go, you can go.”

“Your father will be angry,” said Tom, but his face was lighted up with new hope.

200 “I will tell my father that I was willing you should go. Look yonder! Do you see a line of men and horses winding¹³ through the valley?”

“Yes.”

“They are your people. Go and join them, and forget Miantonimo,” said the Indian boy in sad, reproachful accents.

“I will never forget Miantonimo, but I shall be glad to join the party.”

He brought his horse alongside his companion’s, grasped his hand long and cordially, and then turning, galloped¹⁴ away.

The Indian boy watched him, sitting motionless upon his horse, with a sad and wistful look, and then rode slowly back to rejoin his tribe.

“Poor Miantonimo! he is a true friend!” thought Tom. “He will grieve for me, but I cannot stay with him.”

1 bide   

v.忍耐；等候；住

参考例句：

• We'll have to bide our time until the rain stops.我们必须等到雨停。
• Bide here for a while. 请在这儿等一会儿。

2 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

3 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

4 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

5 converse   

vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反

参考例句：

• He can converse in three languages.他可以用3种语言谈话。
• I wanted to appear friendly and approachable but I think I gave the converse impression.我想显得友好、平易近人些,却发觉给人的印象恰恰相反。

6 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

7 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

8 contented   

adj.满意的，安心的，知足的

参考例句：

• He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
• The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。

9 monotonous   

adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的

参考例句：

• She thought life in the small town was monotonous.她觉得小镇上的生活单调而乏味。
• His articles are fixed in form and monotonous in content.他的文章千篇一律，一个调调儿。

10 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

11 dreariness   

沉寂，可怕，凄凉

参考例句：

• The park wore an aspect of utter dreariness and ruin. 园地上好久没人收拾，一片荒凉。
• There in the melancholy, in the dreariness, Bertha found a bitter fascination. 在这里，在阴郁、倦怠之中，伯莎发现了一种刺痛人心的魅力。

12 vacancy   

n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺

参考例句：

• Her going on maternity leave will create a temporary vacancy.她休产假时将会有一个临时空缺。
• The vacancy of her expression made me doubt if she was listening.她茫然的神情让我怀疑她是否在听。

13 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

14 galloped   

（使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事

参考例句：

• Jo galloped across the field towards him. 乔骑马穿过田野向他奔去。
• The children galloped home as soon as the class was over. 孩子们一下课便飞奔回家了。